Summer is Back and so is Thea!

Hi everyone, it's Thea! This is my second summer working at Harvest Gold Gallery for Bill and Lynda, and I’m excited to be getting back into the swing of things. Around this time of year we get to do the fun stuff around the gallery like rearranging artwork and redecorating, and as an art student it’s certainly my favorite part. Hanging artwork, I’ve found, is like a jigsaw puzzle, except you don’t have a picture of the finished product to help you along. The goal of this puzzle is to fit the pieces of art together in such a way that complements, supports, and augments the individual aspects of each piece, while still looking cohesive on a wall. As an artist myself, it would be comforting to know that my pieces are being carefully considered in their placement in a gallery, and so I try to give that attention to all of our artists. Its fun to try and take the strengths that I see in each artwork and translate that to our customers. I love sprucing up the gallery and creating a finished product for all of our customers to enjoy and appreciate as much as I do. 

"From A Distance", acrylic on canvas 8"x8", hanging in Harvest Gold

While I was away at my first year of college at Alfred University, I was actually able to use what I had learned during my first summer at Harvest Gold Gallery in my classes. In my art courses we had to hang several small shows of our work throughout the year, and my knowledge from working in a gallery really benefitted me. The most important thing I’ve learned since starting to work for Bill and Lynda has been that being a professional artist also means being a professional businessperson. Thanks to that knowledge I really have a leg up on my peers without gallery experience even within my first year of art school. 

"After the Windstorm" in marker, done during my first year at Alfred University

As an artist in training, my work and subject matter often differ from the beautiful more traditional artwork that Harvest Gold Gallery tends to hang on their walls, but I am beyond lucky to have some of my paintings and drawings hanging among such prolific and recognized artists. If you’re interested in seeing my work, visit my website, thea-hart.squarespace.com. I hope to be participating in the annual Plein Air event that Harvest Gold hosts later on during the summer where we bring some our favorite local artists to paint our view of Kezar lake. Another event I’m excited for that will be coming up soon is the annual Open House on Friday, July 10th from 4pm to 6pm where we get to show off our lovely artists, crafters, and authors and their work to our community of customers. I’m especially excited to eat some of Bill’s homemade hors d’oeuvres, and to see what everyone thinks of our redecorating, because we’ve already made quite a few big changes! They’re both great events and we hope to see you there.

My most recent addition to Harvest Gold, "The Window Sill", acrylic on canvas 8.5"x8.5"

Harvest Gold Gallery Celebrates 18 years!

Christmas is special at Harvest Gold Gallery. It was eighteen years ago on the eve of Christmas eve when two of Santa’s elves (Bill Rudd and Lynda Rasco) moved north from Fryeburg to Lovell Maine and opened the Harvest Gold Gallery. They brought with them their hammers, mills, files, saws, vices, anvils, presses and all the tools it takes to design and create their beautiful and award winning jewelry. During the next six months preparations were made to turn the long-standing Severence Real-Estate store into the Harvest Gold Gallery.  They opened on their Sweet Sixteen wedding anniversary in May that spring.

Lynda and Bill had been creating unique, wearable gold and sterling jewelry for many years before moving to Lovell.   They traveled to the big wholesale shows in Philadelphia, Boston and many other cities.  Selling to jewelry stores and fine galleries around the country and abroad they were ready to meet the people who wore their jewelry and open a retail space.

Many of their pieces include Maine gemstones like tourmaline and amethyst mined right here in Oxford County.  Tourmaline is found in beautiful blues, greens and pinks.  Watermelon crystals are especially beautiful because they have both green and pink in the same gem.  The amethyst they use is from the famous Fourth of July find in Sweden, Maine a few years back.  They have become quite good at recycling old family gold and jewelry into new family heirlooms.  Changing the color and style of the old gold to reflect the new wearers own unique taste while keeping the sentimental quality of the piece.

                                                                                                             Over the years they have expanded the other artists in the gallery to include over 200 American artists, most being within an hours drive.  Their mission from the very beginning was to specialize in America artists and crafts people.  Now the gallery includes glass blowers, watercolorists, fine wood workers, stainless steel sculptures, oil and acrylic painters and even a pigmented pulp artist from Berlin, NH.  The fine outdoor pieces that are as functional as they are useful.  Potters who aren’t afraid of color and size, and traditional fabric artists combine to dress up the dinner table.   The book section is filled with award winning children’s stories and classic Maine humor and stories of history and folklore for the adults.

"Snow River" by Varvara Harmon
original oil 42"x 31" framed 

"Crystal Pitcher" by Jean Swan Gordon
Watercolor and ink, 30.25"x36"

Glass blown Rainbow Trout by Michael Hopko

measures 15.5"x 2.5" x7.5" 

Bill Eland "Dragonfly" Stainless Steel Sculpture

"Daffodil" Lamp by Max Howard
Marble and Stainless Steel

"Buck"
Michael Tatom Bronze Sculpture

Blue Lobster's Holiday
Children's Book Series by
Robin Taylor-Chiarello

Ceramic Pitcher by Morgan Rudd 

Oak and Walnut Checkered Bowl
Bruce May Wood Work

 

"Oakhill Farm" by Roland Simard
Handcast pigmented pulp, 23"x35" framed

Stop in when you are traveling through beautiful downtown Center Lovell and wish them a Happy 18^th!  Find out why Yankee Magazine voted them Best Gallery with a View in Maine, both inside and out.  Wonder through their seven rooms and see if you can pick which is more beautiful, inside or outside.  Located on route 5 across from the Center Lovell Inn over looking Kezar Lake and the White Mountains, open daily and on the web www.harvestgoldgallery.com

Jean Franz Miller and The Tale of Cursive Writing

Jean Franz Miller is a local artist at Harvest Gold Gallery whose beautiful paintings are featured on our walls. Since Jean was a child, she has loved creating art and has never veered from her love and desire to be an artist. Although she went to college in Gettysburg as an English major, she also took whatever art courses were available and took advantage of any opportunity to learn more. When Jean finished college she got married and began teaching art in elementary schools. Jean had to stop teaching in order to raise her four children, but slipped away to whatever bedroom, basement, or studio that was available for her to paint or make art in. Although Jean had loved being a teacher, she was driven to art because to her it wasn't a hobby, but a compulsion. For her, art is an absorbing passion and joy that nothing can replace.  She couldn't help herself but to find ways to paint even when times were rough.

Jean loves to learn more about the world around her and likes to express the geology of the world through her art. Jeans passion for painting followed her across the world as she traveled to places such as Portugal, Italy, France, England, China, and eventually here in the state of Maine. Jean came to Maine for the first time 59 years ago and had her honeymoon on Kezar Lake. For 50 years Jean had been coming to Lovell as guest until finally one day her son was offered the lot that they had been visiting and they moved in. Jean now resides on the lake during the summers and at her other home during the rest of the year.

Jean expresses her love of the world and knowledge in her paintings with her vast range of destinations and locations. Even though Jean has learned a lot from her teachers in times past, Jean has come to believe that the bulk of learning derives from the experience that takes place in ones own head. Jean believes that her trips to museums around the world, art studies in books and magazines, as well as many trials and failures have brought her have more expertise, maturity, and eventually competence.

When Jean came to visit Harvest Gold, she shared her love of art with me, but also helped me learn something new. Jean has written in cursive her entire life, and when I explained to her that the school curriculums no longer teach cursive she was baffled. In our history, cursive had been developed into the form we use today in the early 17th century, and has been taught ever since until the 21^st century. So Jean sat down with me and explained how cursive works, and a few days later dropped off a sheet that she made me with the alphabet and a phrase that I can practice my cursive with. Jean has so much love and compassion and I appreciated her taking the time to help me learn something that is very important to her. I learned something new that day, and Jean got to share some of her knowledge with me that I will now have forever. Jean will never stop teaching and learning, and even more she will never stop her true absorbing passion of creating beautiful art.

Please Contact Harvest Gold Gallery for more info on Jean Franz Miller or any of our other artists, or come visit us in Center Lovell, Maine. 

Located on Route 5 in Center Lovell Maine, Open Daily.

Contact us Phone: 925-6502 or Email: harvestgold@fairpoint.net

Varvara Harmon comes to Harvest Gold Gallery to teach a Plein Air class

Varvara Harmon is a Russian artist who moved to Windham Maine in 2001.  She graduated from art school in Russia over 20 years ago and has been painting since she was a little girl. Her work is all made in different mediums and she creates it in a series of small paintings or drawings that are connected by a common subject or theme. We are proud to have an award winning Maine artist showcased here at Harvest Gold Gallery, and even more proud to have had her teach a Plein Air Class here at the Gallery. 
Plein Air is a French expression which means "in the open air," and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors, which is also called peinture sur le motif ("painting on the ground") in French. 
This past saturday Varvara set up her easel and paints and got straight to work here at the gallery using our beautiful Center Lovell View. 

The beginning of Varvara's Plein Air class, and the paintings are starting out great.

By noon Varvara has already accomplished so much. She is amazing to watch in action!

This photo is after 5 hours of dedicated painting. 

This is the end result! It's absolutely beautiful! We are so proud to say that Varvara Harmon painted the view from Harvest Gold Gallery. 

We just had to share Varvaras pallet and organization! Love these colors, they really express the shades of Maine in the summer.

Feel free to come and see more of Varvaras work and check out the view here at Harvest Gold Gallery in Center Lovell, Maine. 

B.R.A.G event in Bridgton Maine!

HARVEST GOLD AT B.R.A.G EVENT 

IN BRIDGTON MAINE 

June 1st from 9am-2pm

Come see two Harvest Gold girls representing the Gallery 

Handing out raffle tickets for a big beautiful jewelry prize!

From beautiful Maine Tourmaline Jewelry to Paintings to Wedding Bands and More!

We are PROUD to have art that was made only in the USA!

Harvest Gold goes green by recycling and "upcycling" old Gold pieces into modern beautiful jewelry.

Tourmaline, Tourmaline, Tourmaline!

Proud to be an American Gallery 

So come see the girls Mahina and Kimberly from 9am-2pm across from the Morning Dew in Bridgton at the new Recreational Park and see what makes us so proud!

Call or Click Harvest Gold Gallery Today

OPEN DAILY

(207) 925-6502

www.harvestgoldgallery.com

Mother's Day!

Hey  Mama, hey hey Mama! 

Thanks for everything you do.

Hey Mama, hey hey Mama you're the one who makes skies blue.

Hey Mama, hey hey Mama don't ya know that I love you!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Here at Harvest Gold we are all about celebrating Mothers and giving them exactly what they deserve. In our cases we have tourmaline, diamonds, pearls and more! Silver and Gold to fit her ever stylish taste. Paintings and Glasswork and Paperweights and beauty galore!

 Jewelry from pearls to tourmaline rings to Gold dangles and bangles! Come and see. 

 

 

Or some beautiful Joelle Goff paintings to brighten up the rooms! 

So bring your mothers! Bring your grandmothers, bring your mother's mothers and father's mothers and enjoy! Harvest Gold is teeming with beautiful items to celebrate the amazing woman in your life!

Located on beautiful Kezar Lake in Center Lovell Maine on Route 5.

Call or Click today.

(207) 925-6502 www.harvestgoldgallery.com